It may be touted as Mumbai’s new identity, but the 4.7km Bandra-Worli Sea Link is giving its toll operator sleepless nights. Almost four months after it was thrown open, the Rajiv Gandhi Sea Link, as it is officially called, has not seen even 40% of the vehicular traffic that it had been projected to carry by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC).
Jayant Mhaiskar, managing director of Mumbai Entry Point Ltd (MEPL), the company in charge of collecting toll, agreed that he is making losses owing to lack of enough vehicles using the bridge.
“September saw around 7,52,137 vehicles paying various tolls on the link,” Mhaiskar said. “The average number of vehicles using it daily is 25,000. Despite various schemes, incentives, and advertising, we are not getting adequate users.”
Mhaiskar said that when the MSRDC was planning the bridge, it had projected close to 65,000 vehicles using it daily. “Since this was a greenfield project, the estimate was based on assumptions,” he said. “But one must understand that motorists have the option of using a non-toll road as well. Thanks to the sea link, other options such as LJ Road and Tulsi Pipe Road have less pressure and motorists are preferring them.”
The U-turn at the Worli end and the lack of steel car decks and a foot overbridge on Worli Seaface are also making motorists turn their back on the sea link.
Moreover, Mhaiskar said, the toll structure is also affecting collections. “The concept of a Rs75 return pass has hit us badly,” he said, “since a number of motorists are using it. This is the only toll road with a cheap return pass. When a car makes a return journey, we lose 50% of our revenue.”
Under the contract between MEPL and the MSRDC, the former can seek compensation for losses incurred. “If the collection continues to be as frugal, we may exercise this right,” said Mhaiskar.
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